


Another White Dash

by scullyseviltwin



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-09-03
Updated: 2004-09-03
Packaged: 2019-05-30 22:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15105809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scullyseviltwin/pseuds/scullyseviltwin
Summary: Ainsley fic. Why'd she leave?





	Another White Dash

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Another White Dash**

**by: ScullyAsTrinity**

**Character(s):** Ainsley  
**Category(s):** Drama, General  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Ainsley fic. Why'd she leave?  
**Author's Note:** Alright, this is about the title. It's a Butterfly Boucher song. I hated her, I saw her four times, because she was opening for Barenaked Ladies... turns out... I like her. Good song. This one's for Aiah, a die-hard Ainsley fan. 

I can't really put my finger on where it all went wrong but as I steer my Ford south, I feel like Carolina is pulling me home. 

I can't really say that it was the Democrats that made me leave. It wasn't a policy shift. Wasn't the lukewarm coffee that always seem to settle at the bottom of my stomach. In fact, I really can't think of anything that made me leave. 

I wasn't fired, and I wasn't getting rusty at what I was doing. 

I just... I wasn't feeling it like I should have been. I wanted to be invigorated and instead I got a bucket of lukewarm water dumped over my head. The thing is, as the weeks went on, the water would keep coming and I felt like I was drowing in the tepid remains of Democratic politics. 

I wasn't invigorated. I tried to be, I launched myself into my work with gusto, made connections, fielded causes. Nothing seemed to abate that drifting feeling. 

I won't deny that I'll miss the bustle, that I'll miss the people. I'll miss Sam's warm smile, Donna's shopping trips and Josh's not so helpful advice. I'll miss the mess food, my unconventional office and the consideration of Leo McGarry, the first person to welcome me into the world of professional politics. 

In some aspects, this is all quite exciting for me, I've never done like this before. I've never upheaved my life just because it didn't feel right. In the seat beside me sits all the technology I need to live my life: my laptop, cell phone and palm pilot. 

The phone rings and I glance at the screen. It's Sam. I want to pick up, desperately, and hear him ask me to come back please, if not for the work, for him. But I let it ring, I let the blue screen light up the interior of my car and blink in time to the music. 

Then, I can no longer hear the ring, but only the pavement that my tires cover. I can only hear the gentle hum of the radio, see the green roadsigns direct me this way and that. 

I can lose myself now, I need to lose myself, if only for a moment. 

That's why I'm sitting here now, listening to nothing in particular, just keeping my eyes on the road. Watching as the dashes pass by me, leading me back home. 


End file.
